This week we focused on the key role that women played in the Early Church. Although it was not common for women to have positions of leadership in Greco Roman structures, the churches scattered across the empire disregarded this exclusionary practice. Instead, women were church planters, teachers, deacons, apostles, and prophets. They worked alongside Paul in the ministry, and even suffered imprisonment for their leadership in the new Jesus movement. We took a look at the witness of Acts and Paul’s letters that showed how the Early Church pushed against their societal norms to enact God’s original intent for oneness among humanity. We also looked at the letters attributed to Paul that are often used to argue against women in ministry and how those text compare with Paul's support of women in ministry in his other works.
If you missed the discussion but would like to follow along please click the following links: Study Guide 3, Video 3.